If These Oneplus 15 Rumors Are True, I'm Worried For Samsung And Google In 2026

3 weeks ago

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ZDNET's cardinal takeaways

The OnePlus 15 is launching successful China soon, and astir specs whitethorn transportation complete to nan US.
Rumors constituent to a overmuch larger battery, a smoother display, and improved cameras.
A imaginable world motorboat whitethorn hap soon after, pinch mid-November being nan expected date.

The OnePlus 13 was already 1 of nan astir underrated and champion value-for-money flagships of this year.

Its successor intends to proceed nan contented by offering flagship capacity astatine a much affordable price. While nan OnePlus 15 is still a fewer weeks away, it is each group to motorboat successful China adjacent week.

Also: I trial dozens of Android phones each year: How nan Google Pixel 10 Pro stacks up

Ahead of nan launch, nan institution has confirmed respective specifications, which look promising. If we are to spell by what we cognize truthful far, nan OnePlus 15 could put different flagship phones to shame.

OnePlus 15 will characteristic an all-new design

While it's been a inclination lately, nan upcoming OnePlus telephone will apt not look for illustration its predecessor. From a redesigned camera module to a caller decorativeness connected nan back, it won't beryllium thing for illustration nan OnePlus 13. So far, OnePlus has shared aggregate images of its adjacent flagship phone, on pinch a caller "sand storm" colour variant.

The OnePlus 15 camera module will get creation elements from nan Asia-exclusive OnePlus 13T. While publically shared images propose that its soil large wind version will characteristic a textured decorativeness for improved grip. I loved OnePlus 13's faux leather backmost and was hoping for nan institution to instrumentality to it, but nan caller type looks great, too. I conscionable dream it has a fingerprint-resistant coating to immoderate capacity.

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OnePlus has besides confirmed that nan upcoming exemplary will athletics a fiberglass back, housed successful a ceramic-coated metallic frame. It is said to beryllium tougher than either aluminum aliases titanium, 2 materials commonly recovered successful competing handsets. The upcoming OnePlus telephone will besides get a customizable Plus Key, which will beryllium successful a akin spot arsenic nan Action Button connected an iPhone, allowing users to group quick-press shortcuts.

The smoothest show yet?

The OnePlus 13 already sports 1 of my favourite smartphone screens, acknowledgment to its precocious brightness levels and AquaTouch feature. Its successor is said to get an moreover higher refresh rate, slimmer bezels, and a much immersive contented depletion experience.

According to nan teasers shared by nan company, OnePlus 15 will characteristic 1.15mm bladed symmetrical bezel connected each 4 sides -- that's slimmer than moreover nan iPhone 17 Pro. It is confirmed to athletics a 165Hz refresh complaint -- a characteristic we person seen connected LCD-equipped smartphones. However, this would beryllium 1 of nan first mainstream flagship phones to characteristic a 165Hz OLED panel.

Also: The OnePlus 13 is astatine a caller debased value astatine Best Buy

OnePlus has co-developed a caller X3 luminescent worldly pinch BOE, which is claimed to present a 13% betterment successful precocious brightness mode (HBM) and an 11.8% summation successful colour accuracy. It is besides said to trim powerfulness depletion by 10% and supply a 30% longer lifespan compared to nan erstwhile generation.

The institution is touting nan OnePlus 15 arsenic nan first Android instrumentality to support existent hardware-level 1-nit minimum brightness, certified by TÜV Rheinland Smart Eye Protection 5.0 Gold. It remains to beryllium seen if these numbers will construe to a real-life advantage, but nan show specs look promising.

These artillery numbers are getting wild

The OnePlus 15 will beryllium powered by Qualcomm's astir powerful Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 SoC, which promises improved video performance, ratio gains, and improved on-device personalized AI features. This processor is claimed to connection up to a 25% summation successful single-core workloads and up to 20% successful multi-core scenarios.

While nan Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 is touted to beryllium much businesslike than before, OnePlus is besides pairing it pinch a immense artillery connected its adjacent flagship phone. The OnePlus 15 will apt athletics a 7,300mAh artillery pinch support for 120W Super Flash Charging and a 50W Wireless Flash Charging.

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These artillery and accelerated charging numbers are industry-leading. For reference, nan Galaxy S25 Ultra packs a specified 5,000mAh artillery while nan Google Pixel 10 Pro XL comes equipped pinch a 5,200mAh capacity. If nan rumored numbers are true, nan OnePlus 15 is very apt to past much than a time connected a azygous charge.

The biggest mobility mark

After years of partnering pinch Hasselblad to refine nan colour tuning of nan OnePlus camera, nan business ended this September. In its place, nan OnePlus 15 will beryllium replaced by nan OnePlus DetailMax Engine, "designed not conscionable to seizure nan world but to uncover it successful wholly existent and clear ways," according to OnePlus co-founder Pete Lau.

The caller OnePlus camera processing is said to beryllium "designed from nan crushed up to present nan clearest and astir existent photos connected a smartphone, it harnesses nan afloat imaginable of computational imaging to coming scenes arsenic they genuinely are, without over-beautification aliases distortion." On his Weibo post, he added, "The infinitesimal you zoom successful connected a photo, you'll understand why I'm assured you'll emotion nan results."

When will nan OnePlus 15 beryllium launched?

The OnePlus 15 is confirmed to motorboat successful China connected October 27, alongside nan region-exclusive OnePlus Ace 6. It will beryllium unveiled astatine an arena starting astatine 7 p.m. Beijing Time (7 a.m. ET). There is nary connection connected nan world motorboat and readiness yet, but leaks propose nan OnePlus 15 could get successful world markets arsenic soon arsenic mid-November -- 2 months earlier than OnePlus 13. Stay tuned to ZDNET for nan latest updates there.